OREANDA-NEWS. OOO Sib-Damel (the city of Leninsk-Kuznetsky), a servicing business affiliated to OAO SUEK-Kuzbass, launched a shop making steel bar grating for surface support in mine workings.

Within only three months they established a modern manufacturing facility equipped with multi-spot automatic welding line to produce grating for surface support in mine workings. The purchased equipment is worth 15m roubles.

According to Sib-Damel director Mr. Nickolai Zhalnin, this device offers the benefit of a higher level of automation to decrease the risk of human error, improve the quality, and reduce the cost of the finished product.

The equipment uses a unique technology to feed longitudinal bars. The technology was developed by the research and manufacturing association Rosstroitech (the city of Novosibirsk). The grating can be welded without stops for loading the equipment with bars. The basis of the multi-spot welding line is formed by a welding gantry equipped with a cross-bar feeder.

Approximately 150 screens are made per shift currently. The existing line is to be shortly complemented with one more line of the same type. The targeted yearly production volume is one million square metres of grating. This amount will suffice to fully supply the demand of the Company's mines for this kind of mining surface support and to sell screens to third-party coal sites.

According to its development prospects of OOO Sib-Damel also plans to launch a line to manufacture skelp plates for supporting surface in mine workings and to start producing reinforced mine ties.